GotaFish

I actually rattled a little 7 pointer away from a group last year. It ran on a line for about 150 yds straight to me. This year I was not able to lure any of them my way by rattling or grunting.

Just thought I would add a post since the last Archery update was from December 5, 2022. I hunt a 136 acre property near Truxton which is about 10 miles west of Warrenton. Where I hunt is basically a wooded lot surrounded by farm fields. My favorite stand is at the corner of the neighbor's field which is currently picked beans. This time of year I usually see 25+ deer per day, the only problem is they are 300 yds out in the field. I am good, but not good enough to shoot a deer with my bow at 300 yds. Yesterday afternoon, was a great day to sit in the woods. I saw 37 deer in the field, 25 of them at one time. I saw 12 different bucks, two small eight pointer size bucks were chasing does around the field. I saw one monster buck and then about 10 minutes later I saw one twice as big. It is hard to tell at 300 yds, but through more Vortex binoculars he looked to be a huge 12 point with big tall tines. I need to get permission to hunt the other side of the field, and I know when I do all of the deer will be on the side of the field I am currently hunting. It is always fun to see so many deer and on more than a few occasions, I have actually watched them walk all the way across the field to meet one of my arrows.

To get back on the topic at hand - no pun intended - I recently read that Tunnel Dam power generation is being decommissioned and power will no longer be generated. Unfortunately, there are no plans to remove the dam. However, having a consistent water level in Tunnel Lake will hopefully make for better fishing.

A few weeks back finally made it to the Niangua. Put in at the upper Lead Mine ramp with my good friend Chris and my Dad made the 90 minute drive to ferry our truck and trailer back to the Berry Bluff ramp. Dad was a trooper sitting at the ramp all day waiting for us. It was awesome to finally be back on the Niangua after about seven years. It was a relaxing float except for the huge sycamore that completely blocked the river between the Lead Mine boat ramp and the lower Lead Mine access. We had to completely unload my 20'6" Shawnee and the two of us had to lift if over the tree. If the boat weighed about 2 more pounds we would have never gotten it over. The rest of the float was uneventful and just relaxing. We caught about 30 fish total most of them smallmouth. The biggest being 19 inches. Did catch two small largemouth and no spotted bass. Looking forward to floating from Berry Bluff to Tunnel Dam sometime next spring. Thank you to everyone for sharing directions to help us find our way back to the river.

You were not the only one who saw this last night. I saw it at 8:42 PM near my home in Truxton, MO. I was driving on Highway A and pulled over to watch in amazement as it flew over. I Googled and determined they were a string of Starlink satellites.

Hello everyone, heading down to Bull Shoals this week to troll for Walleye. Does anyone have an idea where the Thermocline is right now? Is it around 30 feet?

Wrench, Thanks for the directions

Need help with directions from the Lake Niangua access to Lead Mine access. From Tunnel Lake take Tunnel Dam Road, to Highway D to Highway 54. So then where do you turn from Highway 54 to head toward Lead Mine?

One of my favorite banks on the whole river is just below where I think Berry Bluff is. It does not look like much, but almost always produced several bass and usually a 4lb +. I need to drive down there soon and check out the area.

Wrench, Thanks for the information about the Berry Bluff boat ramp. It is too bad about Bird Island, the Flanary's were good people. Do you know if Berry Bluff is known by a different name? I ask because I can't find any information on the Missouri Dept of Conservation site or other information on how to get there.

I have not been able to float the Niangua in several years and really want to get down there this summer. We used to float from Prosperine to Bird Island and either spend the night on the sandbar or take out at Moonlight drive and float the rest of the way on the second day. Based on what I recall I am thinking that Berry Bluff is probably only 1 -2 miles above Bird Island. Does Berry Bluff have a boat ramp similar to Leadmine? I have a 20'6" Shawnee and need to be able to back the trailer into the river. Any information about Berry Bluff or Bird Island would be greatly appreciated.

Do any of you know Brian Flanary down at Bird Island. I used to float with Brian, camp at his place and enjoyed visiting with him and his family. I have not been able to reach Brian in the last couple of years. Phone is disconnected, mail returned and when I visited his place it seemed deserted.

They are definitely here. I ran into this guy down by the river the other day, the Yampa River in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Walked within 5 feet of another bull that I did not see until we were face to face. I slowly backed away. Being 5 feet from a moose got my attention, but that flying squirrel that was with him really freaked me out.

I know absolutley nothing about pool or pool cues, but for $950 I assume these come with spot lock, forwarding looking sonar, will automatically shot the cue ball for me and are completly going to ruin the game of pool for everyone who does not have such technologically advanced equiment

I am trying to get my friend interested in your rig. Is it still for sale?

Dutch, This sent you a PM about fishing this weekend.

Dutch, Are you looking to fish at Pomme or anywhere?

My buddy and I fished Pomme for a few hours yesterday morning. It was my first trip to Pomme in over 45 years. My dad and I always fished further up the lake and usually all the way up into the river. Yesterday, we put in near the dam and got on the water around 9:00 AM and off around 12:30 PM. Saying that the wind was howling would be an understatement, we were constantly getting sprayed. We only managed to catch two small bass and one white bass. I love windy days like this, and I am know we could have caught more fish if we just knew the right flat our pocket to go to on a windy day like this.

Dutch, I am planning to go to Pomme this weekend. Have you been back lately and had any luck?

Dave sorry to see you getting rid of all of your stuff. Would you happen to have any old spinner baits called an "Aggitator". I used to get them in South St. Louis at Paul's bait and tackle. They are my favorite spinner bait, but they have not been manufactured for many years.

Dutch, Thanks for your offer, I would appreciate it if you could make the following for me: 200 total , 50 each of the Swim Bait head in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 5/8 150 total, 50 each of the tube head in 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8 150 total, 50 each of the football jigs 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8 If my math is correct that is 500 total at a cost of $125. PM me with your address and I will send you a check and then plan to pick up the jig head on my way down to Bull later this spring.

Following is an excerpt from my hunting log that I type into my phone as I am sitting in my stand and also update later. I have been doing this for the past couple of years and I find it is cool to go back and have this level of detail years later. Before anyone else says it, I will say these had to be the two unluckiest turkeys to ever walk the face of the earth and they were also two of the tastiest. I will be 60 in February, been shooting a bow since I was 4 years old and bow hunting every year since I was 15 years old. In my nearly 45 years of bow hunting I killed one turkey with a bow and on this day I killed two with one shot, well actually two shots if you count the first one where I missed. Friday, November 5 It is a clear morning, 32 degrees and no wind. Woke up about 4:30 AM stayed in bed until 5:45 PM and almost allowed myself to stay in bed. But because the rut is starting and I have to travel out of town Sunday to Tuesday I decided I better go hunt this morning. Made my tea and had some breakfast. Put my camo in the dryer to refresh the scent blocker and warm them up. Put in new contacts and left the building around 6:35 AM. Carried most all my clothes and got dressed by the black pipe ground blind. Scared a couple of deer while I was walking in. Got in the stand at 6:59 AM. 7:30 AM heard two bucks fighting out in neighbor’s field. Through binoculars I could see two deer in the middle of the field and heard another snort wheezing. I rattled and they both looked my way. One of them started my direction, but I never saw him again. About 8:36 AM a deer was snorting from the other side of the neighbor’s field. Then I saw at least three deer running across the bean field and into the woods. There were a lot of birds squawking and squirrels running around this morning. Heard blue jays, woodpeckers, crows, hawks and I think eagles. 10:00 AM I start packing up, put my quiver on my bow and dial in to a work conference call. About 10:10 AM I see some turkeys coming up the hill out of the field. There are some big gobblers. I put my phone away and grab my bow. I wait until most of the turkeys are behind some trees and slowly stand up. Miraculously they do not see me. They need to go about 10 more yards for me to have a clear enough shot. I range them to be 40 yds. Half way between me and the turkeys is a leafy limb. When the little breeze we have blows the limb goes up and I have a clear shot. When the breeze stops the limb is blocking me. I shoot and the arrow is just low and I will come to learn buries in a tree root. The Turkey I was aiming at leaps, but the others do not really react. Then a Turkey comes over and appears to be inspecting my arrow. I knock another arrow, draw my bow, range at 40 yards, get to my draw point, bend at the waist, aim just a littler higher this time and place the pin on the bird. I let the arrow fly and the bird starts flopping. Awesome, I just got a Turkey with a bow at 40 yards. The other birds scatter and I quickly climb out of my treestand to go over and claim my prize. When I get there to my surprise there are two dead birds. Both are young hens shot through the head. Basically, both birds were decapitated. It appears the rage hit the first bird just above the eye taking off the top of her head, then with the blades deployed the other bird was hit in the neck just below the head and decapitated. I retrieve my first arrow from the tree root sans broadhead (there goes $15). My brother drives up in the UTV to help me look for my arrow. We look for a pretty long time before I find it about 15 yards directly past the birds. So the arrow traveled 40 yards, decapitated two Turkeys and traveled another 15 yards. It is pretty good to shoot a Turkey in the head with a bow and arrow, but to get two in the head with the same arrow is probably a one in a trillion shot. In addition to my surprise that I had two birds, I was surprised they were hens. The first few birds I focused on were definitely large gobblers. On several occasions this fall I have come upon groups of Turkeys on our property and they have been a mix of gobblers and hens. This time of year I thought the gobblers hung out in bachelor groups and the hens & young ones hung out together. Later when my friends and family ask me if I was aiming for the turkeys head's I say of course I was 😊 We all know that is not true, at 40 yards I was aiming at one turkey and somehow decapitated two. Sorry the photo is upside down, it has taken me a month to figure out how to get it off my phone and onto the site. Also in case you are wondering, the broadhead in the photo is not deployed because that is not the actual arrow I used to shoot the two birds.

I have a 2016 utility trailer and a 2013 Dodge Durango. About two years ago the running lights stopped working on the trailer. Brake lights, turn signals and flashers work fine. I figure it was just an issue with the trailer wiring and I would get to it someday. Then the other day my friend borrowed my trailer and the running lights worked great on his Chevy pickup. So obviously the issue is with my Durango. Any ideas where to begin trouble shooting on the vehicle would be greatly appreciated.

I am so sorry for you loss and I pray that you will take each day as it comes. That friends won’t scatter, but will stay close by, that you and your wife will journey the valley together and not apart, that guilt won’t take the place of grief when it subsides. But also when grief comes again, I pray that you are not starting from square one. I pray that you will know that God knows the same pain. But because of his Grace, every day that passes is not one more day further from your daughter, but closer to being with her again.

Ok resending again .